| Likes |
|
- Extended dynamic range
- Excellent noise control
- Excellent color
- Excellent Nikon D200 mechanicals
- Nikon's great autofocus
|
| Dislikes |
|
- Slow shooting
- Menus are a mess
- Files are huge
- Battery incompatible with Nikon
|
Conclusion
The Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro’s image quality makes it a viable choice for pros and other quality-conscious photographers. Dynamic range, noise and color are all excellent. The S5's mechanicals – a Nikon D200 body, with Nikon autofocus, metering and flash – are also big assets. The drawbacks of the S2 and S3 bodies are gone.
The remaining drawback is speed. The shooting rate is glacial, and the camera churns away recording data for minutes at a time when it's shooting RAW files.
How important is that drawback? It's big. For wedding photographers, it probably means shooting with two bodies – the Fujifilm FinePix S5 Pro for image quality, and maybe a Nikon D200 or a Canon 30D for the shots that won't wait for a 30 MB file to write.
